LOVESTRONG Series Bundle: Books 1-4

I loved all four of these stories. Each couples story is unique from they way they interact to the problems they face. Each couple doesn’t always seem obvious from the beginning but yet they are so perfectly suited to each other. I also love how the different characters reappear in later stories. I listened to the Audible version. It was well down and fun to listen too.

How Not to Blend – I love the way that Corbin and Andy compliment each other. They learned to fake until they made it.

How not to Tuck is a shorter story but I love how Larry and Godrich just seem to fit together so well. They seem so mismatched but it really works for them.

How Not to Sin – the back story of the leaving the PC USA is a little too close to home but it made it even a more interesting listen. I love how they remain strong in the love and with the community they were building. I also love some of the things that happened at the end of the story. This is a great story of a couple building a relationship but also a community coming together.

How Not to Wait and How Not to Break – It was amazing to see how these men had fight their own guilt and misunderstanding from the past to see each other in the here and now. On top of that they have to overcome Seth’s crisis with a stalker

The Lovestrong books are the first series written by Susan Hawke that I’ve had the pleasure of listening to. I’m familiar with Susan’s writing style under her pseudonym Susi Hawke. I adore her shifter/mpreg series, so I knew what I was looking forward to when I started How Not to Blend. What I didn’t expect was to be blown away by such a captivating series. Susan is a wonderful author capable of creating interesting stories that draw the reader in. I firmly believe the Lovestrong books would have been just as enjoyable to read as they were to listen to.

Speaking of listening, let’s talk about narrator Michael Pauley(Dean). Holy, crap is he awesome at his job! He has such an intense way of reading for the books he’s hired to do which ultimately leads to an incredible audiobook. I’ve never been let down by something he’s narrated. Michael knows how to bring the heat for the sexy scenes because he really goes for it. You can feel the passion, desperation, lust, and every other intense emotion or feeling between the main characters. It’s seriously hot! Anyway, I’m rambling so I’ll wrap up my fangirling here. Long story short, both Susan and Michael are amazing at what they do, and together they’ve made an incredible series for us to listen to.

HOW NOT TO BLEND
Book one of the Lovestrong collection is about the sweet relationship that grows between super sexy Dr. Corbin Davis and the superbly fabulous Andy Ferguson. Their relationship starts unconventionally. Andy manages a coffee kiosk in the building where Corbin practices as a top-notch cardiologist. He’s had a thing for Dr. Hottie for quite some time. That’s why Andy agrees to help Corbin out if Corbin returns the favor.

Corbin is having problems with his son Grayson and that’s why he needs help. Gray’s been getting into fights at school, disrupting both his education and his father’s work. Corbin asks his son what’s going on, but Gray refuses to talk. With the help of his best friend Dana, who’s daughter is best friends with Gray, Corbin finds out what’s going on. Gray is getting bullied at school for being nonbinary, wearing light makeup, and wearing feminine garments under his clothing.

Together, Andy and Corbin pretend to be in a relationship to show Gray that his dad is an accepting man who would understand him. They also pretend to be in a relationship for Andy’s Gam-gam, Loretta. She worries about him being alone so Andy needs a pretend boyfriend to put her mind at ease. They both hoped to help one other while establishing a friendship between them. What they didn’t expect was for their fake relationship to turn real.

I loved that Corbin came across as an understanding, confident man who loves his son. Andy is such a sassy, flamboyant man. There is a lot of personality crammed in that sweet southern man. His Gam-gam is a hilarious old woman with her mind in the gutter. I think I laughed the most at her shenanigans than anything else throughout the book, and that’s saying something because there was a lot of humor throughout. Honey Combover is freakin’ hilarious! She slew me with her over-the-top personality. I’m glad that Honey’s book is next in the series.

HOW NOT TO TUCK
The second book in this series absolutely slays me every time I listen to it. This is the short story of how Larry Perretti, aka Honey Combover, finds his perfect man in Godric Sheppard. Larry is the music teacher at Grace Academy where Godric happens to be the exhaustively authoritarian principal. They butt heads all the time about rules and what is and isn’t allowed. Larry swears that Principal Stick-in-His-Ass just likes to make his life difficult. When the story starts, Godric is denying the music teacher’s request to dress up in his drag persona. At first, Larry thinks it’s because Godric is being bigoted. His issue, however, is actually with the wardrobe malfunctions Larry tends to suffer during his drag performances. The kids of the glee club don’t need to be terrorized by Larry’s loose anaconda, so Principal Sheppard has to put his foot down.

The meddling principal is making things hard for Larry. He made a promise to Grayson and Becca that he’d be Honey Combover for their performance. So, Larry invites Godric to watch his Valentine’s drag performance to show his stuffy boss that he can dress in drag without any accidents. To Larry’s surprise, Godric agrees to go to the show at Saint’s Place. This gives Larry one chance to prove he can tame that trouser snake long enough to put on a good show without flashing the goods.

Holy crap, Susan, you killed me with Honey’s stage show! I can’t believe how hard I laughed throughout this short story. Honestly, Larry’s personality is fantastic. He’s got a great sense of humor and he is incredibly witty with his quips. I love that Larry isn’t some perfect pretty boy. He’s a big hairy guy, has sass for days, cusses like a sailor, and has a whole lot of heart. Did I mention he was hairy? I cringe just thinking about that tucking tape, the thong, and poor Larry’s fuzzy bits. Haha! Godric was an intriguing character. He’s a smaller guy with a dominant streak. He’s not just a hard ass at school either. Godric likes to lay down the law both in and out of the bedroom, and Larry is living for it. He also treats Larry like the big beautiful man he is, calling him Pretty all the time. It melts my heart seeing/hearing Godric showing Larry the love and affection he deserves.

HOW NOT TO SIN
When it comes to reading stories that involve religion, I’m usually out. I don’t have very good experiences when it comes to the subject of religion. I’m a free spirit for the most part that leans toward paganism more than anything else. So, I wasn’t sure this would be a good book for me to read. Susan did a phenomenal job of breaking down the wall of preconceived notions I built up in my mind though. The two MCs are fantastic characters who stole my heart from the beginning!

Reverend Dr. Gabe Samson is a bisexual pastor at an LGBTQ+ friendly church. He meets Seth Thomas, a new age kind of guy who owns Holistic Healing on the side of the road during a snowstorm. Seth tries to mind his manners around the sexy as sin man of the cloth, but Pastor Babe quickly shuts that shit down. He might be religious, but he’s also just a simple man wanting to live a normal life like everyone else. Seth is a laid back kind of guy who just goes with the flow and dishes up the snarky humor. Having a relationship comes easy to both of them even though Gabe hasn’t explored his gay side and Seth doesn’t do relationships. Together these guys have to fight for their relationship against an anti-gay hate group, Harold Danvers who is determined to bring Pastor Gabe down, a divided congratulation, and undeserved drama.

I wound up loving How Not to Sin. Pastor Gabe has a lot of the same points of view on religion, especially when it comes to people cherry-picking pieces of the scripture. I love that Gabe knew how to hold his own against Danvers’ bigoted bullcrap. Oh, and I’d like to just point out that Brother Nelson and Brother Dicks are fantastic! I was worried that Danvers would spread his vile opinions throughout the leading members of the church, pitting them against Gabe. But things turn out alright in the end. Seth is a stand-up character. Between the slander, violence, discrimination, and everything else, he stands by his man. Also, I’d just like to say it was hilarious reading the parts about the ‘sexual healing’ energy of those crystal sex toys

HOW NOT TO WAIT & HOW NOT TO BREAK
I chose to review both of these titles together because they focus on Shaw Michaelson and Nick St. Cloud. Throughout the series, we see snippets of Shaw and Nick interacting with the other characters. Nick was very good friends with Shaw’s parents before they died. They took a sixteen-year-old Nick in when his parents kicked him out for being gay. Shaw was only a toddler when Nick moved in, so he’s always seen Shaw as a kid. Flash forward to Shaw being eighteen in How Not to Wait, and we have the opportunity to see things change between them in a sexy, yet devastating way. I’m not going to go into a lot of detail regarding How Not to Wait because it was a very short story that sets up How Not to Break. One thing I will say, though it may be a short taste of what to expect in the following book, a lot is happening that’ll hit you in the feels.

How Not to Break flashes forward about ten years. Shaw is running his mom’s toy store and living his best life. He’s still pining over Nick, but he’s doing his best to move on with his life. Shaw is on a May/December app where he’s looking for his perfect partner, but he’s had no luck. Nick, on the other hand, owns a bar called Saint’s Place. It’s where Larry and Andy spend Thursdays performing in drag. And, despite seeing each other around, Nick and Shaw avoid one another for the most part. It isn’t until Shaw finds himself being stalked by a creeper that he and Nick start to work things out between them.

I’m head over heels for these two stories. I wasn’t sure how to feel about How Not to Wait. The way things play out with Shaw and his inability to control his desires sort of shocked me. I wound up alright with it after thinking about the way Nick responds. Shaw shouldn’t have done anything to Nick without Nick’s consent. The discord between them throughout How Not to Break made me sad, but I understood it. I’m just glad that Saint Nick finally pulled his head out of his ass. I’m also glad that Shaw started to see things from Nick’s perspective, taking away some of those hurt feelings he’s held onto. In the end, there was a wonderful happy ever after that touched my heart.

IN CONCLUSION
This entire bundle is fantastic. I love each of the stories for completely different reasons. There is drama, anger, sadness, happiness, uncertainty, new discoveries, and more. I would recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys contemporary gay romance.